Archive for the ‘Old Time Radio’ Category
Behind Your Radio Dial: The Story of NBC
March 13th, 2010
This promotional film by and about NBC Radio from around 1947 is an interesting look at the world of radio and television broadcasting, from rehearsals and studio tours to focus groups commenting on new program ideas. There are snippets from a few programs, including Fred Allen’s “Allen’s Alley” and a musical performance by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians on radio, and “Fibber McGee and Molly” and “The Howdy Doody Show: on television. This is a great period piece from the Prelinger Archives on the Internet Archive website.
On the Air
October 18th, 2009
On the Air is a 1937 educational film about radio broadcasting from the Jam Handy Organization. It opens with a studio radio performance by celebrated violinist David Rubinoff and his orchestra, all dressed in formal attire, showing the musicians but also some of the production details — hand signals from the booth, and adjustments of various dials and knobs. And then we’re off on a technical explanation of sound waves, radio signals, amplification and transmission, showing how the sound from the studio is makes it way into the living rooms and automobiles of America.
This ten minute black-and-white film was made for the Chevrolet Division, General Motors Corporation, and is one of several Jam Handy productions from the Prelinger Archives available through the Internet Archive.
On the Air — Internet Archive
RIP Gale Storm
July 7th, 2009
Gale Storm, best-remembered from her 1950’s program “My Little Margie,” died on June 27 at the age of 87.
Born Josephine Cottle, her career began in 1940 when she won a national talent contest called Gateway to Hollywood. The official prize was a movie contract RKO contract under the name Gale Storm. She fell in love with contest’s male winner, Lee Bonnell, who she married in 1941.
In the 1940s, Gale Storm appeared in many B movies but her big break came in 1952, when “My Little Margie” premiered as a summer replacement for “I Love Lucy.” Both shows were set in Manhattan and revolved around madcap women and their crazy schemes which often involved dress-up and deception, always backfired and both amused and exasperated the men in their lives.
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Back of the Mike
January 31st, 2009
Back of the Mike (1938) shows a young boy listening to the latest episode in an adventure radio program. Old Pete Belden and his niece Betty are driving the Flying B payroll across the desert when they are attacked by bandits, complete with cowboy hats and bandanas!
At first we see the story as if it were a movie, and we see the scenes that the boy is seeing in his mind. Then the view switches, and we’re in the radio studio, where we see the actors reading from their scripts and the sound effects men producing the sounds of horse hooves, cars, doors, fire, gunshots and more. The film keeps switching, showing us the boy in his bedroom, the Western scenes in his head, and the smooth operation of the radio study producing this fantasy.
This film is a great look at how radio dramas were made. I’ve seen other behind-the-scenes looks at old time radio studios in action, but I thought this one was particularly effective, contrasting the drama produced by the imagination of the listener with what’s really happening in the studio.
Back of the Mike was produced by the Jam Handy Organization, a Detroit-based company run by Henry Jamison “Jam” Handy. Jam Handy produced hundreds of short educational and industrial films. This is one of many in the Prelinger Archives available through the Internet Archive site.
